VoipStunt - Free Landline Calls - Better than Skype (?)
Business, Personal Productivity, Software, Technology February 10th, 2006
VoipStunt is a Germany-based service that allows free phone calls from your computer to landlines in a number of countries. After downloading the application and creating a user account, you can make 1 minute test calls – I did, and the sound quality is excellent.
There is a one-time “upgrade” of 10 euros which does not expire, so as you make more and more calls, they really become close to free. Almost too good to be true, and definitely beats the already low Skype-out calls, or the announced but not-yet-available Yahoo IM calls. Here’the link to the list of free countries, as well as rates to other destinations.
Update (5/15): Skype announced free calls to landlines within the US and Canada.
Zoli Erdos
This is true! I have just tried their service, and talked half an hour with my mom. This was a call from Israel to Latvia landline. The sound quality is comparable to SkypeOut. Let’s hope these folks are not going to cheat their clients and live up to their promises.
Grrrr - doesn’t do Mac
The VOIP market changed so dramatically, these guys are not alone, there must be many others… there should be a Mac client out there. - if not, get a Whopper:-)
i would like to get information about sites that offer software that supports mac users, for voip system
Is it possible to add tones after a call is connected–for instance digits you have to enter to retrieve messages from voice mail or an answering machine?
I tried that–was connected to the phone number, heard the message, pressed the correct digits on my computer keyboard, heard tones when I pressed them–but nothing happened. (If I had pressed those digits on a connected phone, I would have been able to hear my messages.)
Does anyone know how to get that to work in voipstunt?
Thank you.
I don’t know if voicemail systems are different, but I regularly call a number where first I have to hear the automated message, then key in the extension number, and it works for me.
I’m a VOIP user living in California (using a T1 internet connection). I make calls to Spain and the US very often.
Since the day I downloaded VOIPSTUNT my sound quality I obtained was EXTREMELY poor!!! (lots of feedback, echo and delay). I even paid the 10€ (wich last only 4 months!!!!) of free calls, but the quality was very bad.
I tried complaining to the company but they have NO reliable CUSTOMER SUPPORT service.
I’ve tried other VOIP programms such as Skype and PeopleCall and with both I had EXCELLENT sound quality.
I would NOT recommend VOIPSTUNT at all.
VOIP software rates (May 24,2006)
http://www.skype.com/products/skypeout/rates/all_rates.html#listing-S
http://secure2.peoplecall.com/www/tarifas.html
http://www.voipstunt.com/en/rates.html
——-SKYPE/PCALL/VoIpStunt
Spain: $0.024/$0.029/free(*)
Spain-Mobile: $0.312/$0.204/$0.024
USA: $0.024/$0.029/free(*)
USA-TollFree: free/$0.037/free(*)
(*) 10€ ($12.78) for 4 months of free calls to US & Spain
If you would like to compare the rates of Skype, Voipstunt, Yahoo Voice, Wengo and other you could have a look over here; http://www.voipproducts.eu
I FULLY AGREE. THE QUALITY AT LEAST WITH MY COMPUTER IS VERY POOR I THINK HAS TO DO WITH INSTALLED SOFTWARE OR THE CHIPSET. I HAVE WIN 2000. THE CPU WHEN I PHONE GOES TO THE 100% OF THE USAGE AND THE POOR PC FREEZES.
NO ANSWER FROM SUPPORT OF THOSE GERMANS.
WHI IS EXPERIENCING THE SAME. WITH SKYPE ALL IS OK/
I just learned about VOIPStunt and I will tell you a little secret that I found out and not many people know (apparently, or you’d know it already).
You can call THROUGH VOIPStunt, using ANY sip application you like, for example, I’ve just used it now to call my mum in the uk, and I was using Ekiga, which is a linux gnome application that supports SIP calls.
so if they don’t have a native app for mac, don’t worry, look for a sip application and you’re away, they even give details on their site about how to setup a sip device.
do you know of any alternatives to this which work on Mac OS?
Agreed . after 4 months they are not free and cost the same as any regular phone company. not a bargain just a 16 week stunt. david
I Know you are not Voipstunt but can you help me
,I had my computer crash and lost all my info re Voipstunt and now cannot use it. there site wont let me access as i dont know my user name there for I cannot talk to them
My name is Ivan Rook Las estscas.Mondron/Periana.Spain Tel +34951160093.Is there any way you can get through to them for me.There site is not good as there is no way to contact them if you have lost your information Thanks Ivan Rook URGERT
I cannot access my VoipStunt at all - everything else working fine on computer but nothing related to VoipStunt downloads so I can’t make calls or even try to contact customer service or do anything at all. I can’t even do a new download because I can’t get it to appear on my computer. This is no help to Ivan but I just don’t know what to do either.
Any ideas.
Thanks
any good idea for Mac users please???
i am thinking that maybe you can just make phone to phone calls
instead of pc-to-phone so you won’t really need to get a software anymore
what do you guys think?
so you can use it with your mac …
lemme know
Attention Mac users:
You need only configure a softphone, i.e. a SIP-based software IP phone with the settings for Voipstunt and voilĂ ! You’ll be able to make your calls.
I’m using a hardware IP phone and it works relatively well. My mother complains that I sound slightly modulated, but I can hear her perfectly.
So, for Mac users, you need only go to an Internet café and download the client once to create an account (there is no other way to create an account).
Once you have created an account, you can go back home and go to the voipstunt.com Web site to load money onto your account. You will need to have either a mobile or a landline phone handy to receive a call or an SMS as a security measure to prove your identity. Then you are good to go! You can use the IP softphone the exact same way you would use the proprietary software provided by Voipstunt.
Hope that helps!
Cheers,
Ian
I get tired of trying to fixa an error that say{ Other party ended the call for an unknown error ?}
I emailed and i called VoipStunt several times ! but no one give attention ,, i dont understand why no one take car of it !
For Mac Users.
X-Lite works well with Voipstunt, and it is very clear. Much better than Skype.
I am happy with the use of VOIPSTUNT but customer support appears to be a contradiction in terms. I had a problem recently with using it from two laptops and got no response to my requests for help, including from the head office of the parent company. I can only assume they simply do not want to answer questions.
I to had a problem as my computer crashed and i lots every thing had not wrote down my information for Voipstunt and got no help aas i could not find a contact number on there site
Problems with mac. So i can’t download voipstunt to macmini. Voipstunt asks me to register, but i already have an account. I need only new version (the old one worked good). What should i do????
Maria, As far a I know the only way you can use voipstunt on a Mac Machine, is either by the web page or by downloading a soft phone such as X-lite. If you go to the voipstunt web page they will tell you of other soft phones which can also be used.
Jon
I have been using VOIP stunt for 2 years in 3 different countries and it’s fantastic. I think the quality is better than skype and the rates are too.
I’m an IT professional, if anybody thinks that voip stunts quality is not good, their computer/internet connection needs to be improved. Get a headset and decent internet speed and you won’t have any issues.
Re: Dan’s comment
Since Voipstunt bills in euro cents, it often does not have the cheapest rates, particularly for non-Europeans.
I have found Voipvoip.com (which bills in U.S. dollars) to offer some of the cheapest rates, as well as Les.net (which bills in Canadian dollars). However, Voipstunt connects with greater reliability and line quality. Sometimes, you do get what you pay for.
Users of Gizmo5 (Gizmo Project) can also access Voipstunt via Gizmo backdoor access:
01016466520455 (you would have to add your Gizmo number to your settings in the Voipstunt client or pay for caller ID from Gizmo to change it on http://www.gizmo5.com).
A note to Linksys ATA or SPA-XXX VoIP phone users: make sure you set your RTP Packet Size on the SIP tab to 0.02 seconds (20 miliseconds). All Linksys (Sipura) devices default to 0.03 (30 miliseconds). Make sure “Network Jitter Level” is set to “Low” (it is set to “High” by defult). I had horribly stuttered audio with two different VoIP providers until I tweaked these two settings.
Ian
Hi.. is this free or do you have to pay everytime you call someplace, it show’s free to Canada and some other places but when i tryed to call it won’t let me.
Aslo Everytalks about Skype but it won’t download to my computer??
sad
Dena
I agree with Dan. I have been using VoipStunt for over
2 years now and I’m very satisfied. The quality is good enough if you use a headset and have a fast internet connection. Occasionally I have also experiences echoes, but that is not common.
About the 4 months expiration time: Yes, the free time “only” lasts 4 months, but after that your money is not gone but you can still use it at the normal rates. I haven’t compared them, but the 10 EUR you paid still last 1 hour to German cell phones, or 20 hours in one of the normally “free” countries.
One thing to notice is the fair-use policy: Calls are only free if you don’t call more than 300 minutes in any 7 days period (I think, I’m not 100% sure about the details). On top of that, they charge 1c per minute.
Nothing is free in this life… you have to pay 10€ or what ever to get free calls… voipstunt is not to bad… but do not use viopcheap as their service is very bad… they will connect.. you but you cannot hear the one you are calling… but you still get changed for the call… so sometime companies tell you they are cheap are not. .